Oxbow Advisors LLC held its position in shares of W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,308 shares of the company’s stock at the end of the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $752,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. QUANTRES ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $205,000. Atria Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $239,000. Charter Trust Co. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.1% in the second quarter. Charter Trust Co. now owns 1,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth $257,000. Finally, Verus Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.7% in the second quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.56% of the company’s stock.

Shares of W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE:GWW) traded up 0.92% on Friday, reaching $208.31. The company had a trading volume of 427,797 shares. The company has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $216.88 and its 200-day moving average is $224.25. W.W. Grainger Inc. has a one year low of $176.85 and a one year high of $239.95.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 18th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.07. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 31.67%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger Inc. will post $11.53 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 9th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 43.88%.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Investment Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on W.W. Grainger from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. Macquarie started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Thursday, August 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $274.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on W.W. Grainger from $197.00 to $187.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co. reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Sunday, September 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.50.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc (Grainger) is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies and other related products and services. The Company offers its products and services to businesses and institutions in the United States and Canada, with presence also in Europe, Asia and Latin America.